South Africa

PRETORIA - The increased "belligerence on the part of labour", violent service-delivery protests, as well as the increase in cash-in-transit heists in South Africa, are "substantially" harming confidence in the business environment, according to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci). Sacci has released an assessment of the key focus areas in the policy environment during President Jacob Zuma's first 100 days in office, in comparison with the focus areas outlined in Sacci's first-quarter review, released in March. Crime and security and labour have regressed on the chamber's policy radar since Zuma took office. Sacci emphasises that the labour environment appears to be increasingly belligerent, especially from the perspective of foreign stakeholders, which might not always distinguish between labour strikes and service-delivery protests. Further, the chamber notes that the recent spate of heists in shopping malls has had a "very negative" impact on the policy radar. The chamber adds that other areas that have to be dealt with include: improving the judicial system to enable it to perform its constitutional mandate effectively, strengthening correctional services and a ‘no tolerance' policy against corruption.

PRETORIA - South Africa will likely lag behind the economic recovery and increasing optimism in other countries, says Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Speaking at the financial results presentation for the State-owned Land Bank, Gordhan says that there is a lot of talk about "green shoots and the possibility of the recession having bottomed out". However, South Africa is "at a point where that optimism will come with a bit of a lag, as with the recession itself". The Reserve Bank recently surprised by cutting the repo rate by 50 basis points to 7% on concerns that South Africa's first recession in 17 years is going to be deeper than previously thought. Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni says that, while the global economy appears to have improved, the recovery will not be uniform across all countries, and South Africa lags the international trend.

JOHANNESBURG - Problems in the organisational structure of the African National Congress (ANC) have led to a lack of accountability by councillors, says ANC veteran and former Speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala. When the ANC returned from exile, Ginwala explains, it decided "not to establish a parliamentary party, but decided to retain the branch as the basic unit of organisation, decision-making and choosing leadership". Delivering the annual Ruth First lecture at the University of the Witwatersrand, Ginwala says that the ANC did not adequately consider the link between branch and local government. Many of today's problems "arise from the [ANC's] complicated governing structures". She explains that, while ANC branches are intended to hold local government accountable, the reality is very different, because the "organisational mechanisms for such accountability do not exist".

LIMPOPO - Government is investigating less costly ways of land acquisition to expedite land redistribution. President Jacob Zuma says that land redistribution and restitution remain key to his administration's efforts to stimulate rural development. He calls for an alternative model of land redistribution and says that government will have to investigate less costly alternative means of land acquisition through engagement with all stakeholders. "The general view is that the ‘willing buyer, willing seller' model does not work. We will be seeking a much more pragmatic formula to land redistribution," says Zuma.

Africa & the world

KINSHASA - World Bank President Robert Zoellick has concluded a visit to Africa, saying that he is still convinced this century belongs to Africa's development, despite damage to African economies caused by the global financial crisis. Zoellick says that Africa's needs deserve more attention and should be made a priority at a meeting of the Group of 20 developed and developing countries in the US next month. The World Bank chief says that his travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda have reinforced his belief that the immediate challenge to keep Africa growing requires more resources to bolster regional integration, as well as investments in energy, infrastructure and agriculture.